Man in Friday the 13th costume arrested by armed police at Leeds pub

Shaun McKeon was handcuffed by armed police dressed as a character from Friday the 13th (Picture: Ross Pary / SWNS)

A man dressed as a character from horror film Friday the 13th was arrested by armed police after concerned members of the public mistook his fake toy knives for real weapons.

Shaun McKeon was dressed as fictional slasher Jason Voorhees for a fancy dress party when police dragged him out a city centre pub.

‘I was at The Angel Inn drinking for a good half an hour before the police turned up in force with guns and dogs,’ he explained.

‘I gathered that they were there because of the fake weapons I had brought, so I handed my bag to the off-duty officer to be checked.

‘At this point it was quite obvious to all, including the off-duty officer, that I posed no threat whatsoever but the police still dragged me to the ground and cuffed me anyway.’

Shaun McKeon dressed in the costume (Picture: Ross Pary / SWNS)

The unemployed 26-year-old said he and his friends are all ‘quite big horror fans’ and explained he had been out ‘many times’ in the Friday 13th Jason outfit.

West Yorkshire Police said they received reports of ‘a masked man was walking around Leeds city centre carrying what appeared to be knives’ last Friday.

The force later issued a warning about carrying fake weapons in public.

Shaun Mckeon is a huge fan of horror (Picture: SWNS / Ross Parry)

‘We would remind everyone that carrying toy weapons in these circumstances can cause real distress as the items may well be mistaken by residents for the real thing, as in this case,’ said Supt. Sam Miller.

‘Such items should not be displayed and anyone who does so can expect to be stopped by police and appropriately dealt with.’

Witness Liz Goodwill, 53, said: ‘It all felt a bit heavy-handed really, he was just a lad in fancy dress.’